Sports Business

Bridgestone Invitational ready for big week of golf -- with or without Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods' last PGA tournament win occurred at the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.

Tiger Woods has missed just one Bridgestone Invitational since 1999.

Next week’s tournament at Firestone Country Club in Akron will be the second, unless Woods somehow wins the Quicken Loans National this weekend. “You know, I wouldn’t put anything past Tiger,” Bridgestone executive director Don Padgett said Tuesday. “You never want to count him out.” But that’s the thing: Many of us already have. The Quicken Loans National is just Tiger’s 16th event since 2014. He’s had all of two top-25 finishes in that span, and he’s missed the cut five times. From 1997-2009, when Woods was at his apex, he missed the cut twice in 231 events. With 69 first-place finishes in 13 seasons, he won 30% of the tournaments in which he competed. Thursday, Woods actually made four consecutive birdies to start the back nine, and he rebounded from a rough start to finish the first round of the Quicken Loans National at 3-under. But he entered Friday five shots off the lead, and 28 golfers were ahead of him on the leaderboard. (Early afternoon update: Woods shot a 5-under 66 in the second round to make things MUCH more interesting.) Tiger’s last PGA win was the 2013 Bridgestone. Last year, Woods withdrew in the final round at Firestone because of a back injury. At the time, he was 3-over for the round and 4-over for the tournament. It was obviously a far cry from Woods’ previous work at the Bridgestone — an event that has accounted for eight of his 79 tournament titles. Tiger has been in the top four at the Bridgestone 11 times since 1999. In 2008, the last time he missed the event, the tournament’s ticket sales were “slightly down,” Padgett told us last year. The Bridgestone’s attendance has increased in every year since. When we spoke with Padgett this week, he said the sales for this year’s event, which runs from Aug. 6-9, were “shaping up well.” The tournament’s executive director added that “Northeast Ohio always does well in supporting the event. This year, that’s following suit.” Part of the reason is golf, finally, seems to be in good shape when it comes to generating interest in any big tournament that doesn’t include Woods, or feature him prominently on the leaderboard. The headliner at Bridgestone next week will be 22-year-old Jordan Spieth, the reigning Masters and U.S. Open champ. Rory McIlroy (who will miss the Bridgestone because of an ankle injury), won the 2014 PGA Championship at 26, and 26-year-old Rickie Fowler was the most recent first-place finisher in The Players Championship. The current FedEx Cup champ, Billy Horschel, is 28. Of late, the only member of the 30-and-over club to claim one of the sport’s biggest honors is Zach Johnson, 39, who won a three-person playoff to capture the British Open on July 20. “I see the PGA Tour being in an exciting place, particularly with the young up-and-comers,” Padgett said. “Jordan just turned 22, and to win four times on the PGA (in 2015), with two major championships, is a pretty unbelievable story there. Rickie Fowler has always been a fan favorite, and he just won The Players Championship and the Scottish Open. You’ve got a mix of veterans as well with Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson, who just won the Open Championship. We have some great players in the pro game.” Almost all of them will be in Akron next week. If things really go well this weekend, Tiger will be there, too. But, for once, that doesn’t seem to matter as much.

B Spot now part of Bridgestone

The Bridgestone has upped its game when it comes to the fan experience in the last few years. In 2014, the tournament started Music After Play — concerts that are held behind the 18th green after rounds conclude on Friday and Saturday nights.

This year’s acts are country star Olivia Lane on Friday, and Pittsburgh rock band The Clarks on Saturday. More importantly, at least to me, the Bridgestone amped up its local food offerings in 2014 — a move that included the addition of a Swenson’s food truck. This year, a B Spot will be part of the Heineken USA Beer Garden, which is located near the 13th green. Padgett said a new video board will also be in the area, which includes the climate-controlled Grey Goose Lounge. “We’re excited about that,” Padgett said of the new offerings. “We’ve added some additional food trucks. And they get to see the best players in the world in person. I always encourage people, you can watch any event all year long on TV, but this is a chance to see these guys in person.”

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